This Notice announces the responses to public comments and decisions of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), http://dpcpsi.nih.gov/council/working_group.aspx, regarding the use of chimpanzees in research. In February 2012, the NIH charged a working group of the Council of Councils, a federal advisory committee, to provide advice on implementing recommendations made by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Committee on the Use of Chimpanzees in Biomedical and Behavioral Research in its 2011 report, Chimpanzees in Biomedical and Behavioral Research: Assessing the Necessity. On January 22, 2013, the NIH Council of Councils accepted recommendations presented by the Working Group on the Use of Chimpanzees in NIH-Supported Research and provided these recommendations to the NIH. The NIH subsequently issued a request for comments to obtain broad public input on the 28 Council recommendations that the NIH is considering as it determines how to implement the IOM Committee’s recommendations. This Notice summarizes the comments received in response to the request for comments and announces the agency’s decisions with respect to the Council recommendations. The NIH plans to prepare subsequent procedural guidance and technical assistance, as appropriate, to implement some of these decisions. Investigators should continue to follow existing guidance (see NOT-OD-12-025) regarding the submission of applications, proposals, or protocols for research involving chimpanzees until the NIH announces the procedural guidance.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to: The Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives, Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health at dpcpsi@od.nih.gov.